'Significant' expansion of nuclear waste compensation now in Trump's megabill
Source: ABC News
June 13, 2025, 10:53 AM
For years, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley has been the face of a fight in Congress to reauthorize and expand access to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which provides compensation to individuals exposed to nuclear waste. Now, Hawley has announced a breakthrough: reauthorization and expansion of the program in the Senate's version of the "One Big Beautiful Bill."
If the Senate's version of the bill is finally adopted, it will include in it the largest expansion of the program since its inception in 1990, allowing individuals in regions of Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alaska, as well as the already-qualified "downwinders" exposed to nuclear radiation from the testing of the atomic bomb, to be compensated for exposure to toxic waste.
In an exclusive phone interview with ABC News Thursday night, Hawley called the inclusion of the RECA provisions in the Senate's version of the megabill advancing President Donald Trump's legislative agenda a "huge step forward" in the fight to secure compensation for individuals affected by nuclear exposure. "This will be, if we can get the Big Beautiful Bill passed, this will be a huge huge victory," the Missouri Republican said during the phone call.
The Senate is still working through the larger contours of the package which is expected to include an extension of the Trump 2017 Tax cuts and more funding for defense and border security. The bill is also expected to make changes to a number of programs, including SNAP and Medicaid, in order to cut costs.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hawley-effort-expand-nuclear-waste-compensation-program-included/story?id=122812728